Locavore News by Elbert van Donkersgoed
Posted: October 13, 2009
Categories: Food in the News / News from Sustain Ontario
Perspectives on good food and farming
A quest to reinvent the lethal Scottish diet
The visionary process to develop it engaged experts rather than government bureaucrats to lead work groups on areas ranging from health to food security and economic growth. They, in turn, pulled together diverse teams of farmers, health specialists, environmental activists, industry reps and anti-poverty advocates, creating a veritable food fight in every stream to hash out solutions. The process held much promise, as Anderson believed, to actually create a food policy grounded in nutrition and health, to elevate food from a commercial enterprise to a public good. But it may have been derailed from the start, by a government focused on keeping everyone happy, but most especially by the food and whisky industries, as the governing Scottish National Party gathers support for an independence vote. Toronto Star story.
A 50-Year Farm Bill
The extraordinary rainstorms last June caused catastrophic soil erosion in the grain lands of Iowa, where there were gullies 200 feet wide. But even worse damage is done over the long term under normal rainfall — by the little rills and sheets of erosion on incompletely covered or denuded cropland, and by various degradations resulting from industrial procedures and technologies alien to both agriculture and nature. Soil that is used and abused in this way is as nonrenewable as (and far more valuable than) oil. Unlike oil, it has no technological substitute — and no powerful friends in the halls of government. Wes Jackson andWendell Berry essay in the New York Times.
A tough row to hoe
Our farmers are struggling. Can Nova Scotia’s growing appetite for local food save the farm before it’s too late? The provincial government came to the farmers’ rescue with financial incentives that helped prop up the industry when pork prices were low. But in 2006, the province announced it would stop supporting a business model that no longer seemed viable. The Nova Scotia Chronicle Herald story.
B.C. food suppliers make Olympic pitch
B.C. food suppliers dreamed Olympic gold Monday and pitched everything from Burnaby croissants to Saskatoon berry pie to 2010 Winter Games foodservice providers. More than 80 food businesses attended a Vancouver trade show to market their products to catering companies, hotels and others who will serve about 3.7 million meals to Games visitors next year. Vancouver Sun story.
White House Farmers Market Aims To Change America’s Eating Habits
Produce grown by local independent farmers is often more expensive than conventional produce sold at a supermarket, which makes buying local out of reach to many low-income families. The White House market alleviates this problem by accepting food stamps – and makes them worth twice as much as they would be if spent elsewhere. The Obamas hope that making fresh, local food accessible to more Americans will make it easier for more families to eat healthier, which will serve to decrease overall health care costs, while stimulating economic development in rural areas. But we’re not there yet.Huffington Post story.
Eat’n Park is at the vanguard of eco-responsibility
Jamie Moore was in the right place at the right time. When the corporation hired away Mr. Moore from the Hilton Hotel in 1999 to become its first purchasing manager, neither he nor his employer knew what his job would become. Mr. Moore developed FarmSource, a local food purchasing system. Pittsburgh Post Gazette story.
State Pushes ‘Grow Local, Eat Local’ Campaign
Hundreds of people got their first taste of fall on Friday as Autumn Fest kicked off at the Greenville State Farmer’s Market. The event hopes to promote the growing, buying and eating of local food. The South Carolina Department of Agriculture has been pushing the idea of “Grow Local, Eat Local.” Officials said that for every $100,000 increase in farm sales, up to five new jobs are created and $200,000 in economic activity is generated. WYFF4.com story Grenville, South Carolina.
Farmers use vending machines to sell local produce
In a world wrapped up in complex supply chains, small farmers are in a catch-22: sell to the supermarkets and get less cash for your carrots, or spend a lot more time and effort trying to sell directly to customers. Consumers, meanwhile, are torn between loyalty to local businesses and the convenience of those established supply chains. Now a German farm, Peter-und-Paul-Hof, has found a solution in the form of… vending machines. The result of a collaboration between the farm and vending manufacturer Stuewer, the specially designed Regiomat machines currently sell fresh milk, eggs, butter, cheese, potatoes and sausage in thirteen German towns and communities. Information about the Regiomat (in German). Information about Peter and Paul Hof (Farm). Story in Springwise Newsletter.
The Grillwalker Takes Berlin
Jürgen Stiller regularly stands outside Berlin’s historic Friedrichstrasse train station with a four-pound canister of flammable propane strapped to his back. But if a police officer approaches him, it is only to buy one of the hot bratwurst sizzling on the flaming grill suspended from his shoulders. Mr. Stiller works as a Grillwalker, a one-man mobile sausage-cooking machine. He and his colleagues can be seen around the capital, turning their browning bratwursts with tongs and tempting pedestrians with the scent of cooking meat wafting from their grills. New York Times story
Paddock to Plate: Policy Propositions for Sustaining Food & Farming Systems
This paper culminates a project for the Australian Conservation Foundation that explores the future of the Victorian food and farming system in a rapidly changing and more demanding world, focusing on the period to 2020. It tries to anticipate and imagine the sorts of activities and investments that will be needed if Victoria is to equip its food and farming system to produce more healthy foods, more sustainably, in a much more difficult climate, while consuming less water, nutrients, energy, soil and biodiversity. The Future Food and Farm Project Propositions Paper.
EYE CANDY
Satellite Image of Circular Crop Fields in Kansas
Photograph taken from outer space of a field in Kansas with lots of circles because the farmers are using central pivot irrigation. Click to enlarge it. Wikipedia.